Stockpiled materials, such as ore concentrate, are frequently stored in dockside storage buildings which are equipped with a fixed conveyor positioned to convey the material to a ship or barge. Typically, the bucket of a front-end loader is used to scoop up material and deposit it on the fixed conveyor. As the stockpiled material is removed, the front-end loader must travel farther and farther from the conveyor and the time required to fill the bucket with material, carry the material to the conveyor, dump the material on the conveyor and return to the stockpile increases. The long time required to travel back and forth between the stockpile and the conveyor is undesirable, especially when large volumes of material must be moved. The time in motion results in increased cost of handling, increased wear on the front-end loader, and longer stays for the ship or barge at dockside while waiting to be loaded unless multiple front-end loaders are used. In addition, utilizing a front-end loader, with its limited reach, necessarily exposes the operator to a safety hazard in that excavating along the lower part of the stockpile creates overhanging material which eventually caves and sloughs, endangering both the operator and the loader.
It will therefore be appreciated that there has been a significant need for a feeder system which reduces the time required to load stockpiled material without increasing the cost of handling while performing such operations in a safer manner. Any such feeder system should be easily and quickly modified to accommodate the particular distance between the stockpile and the fixed conveyor resulting not only from significant changes in the distance between the stockpile and the conveyor as the stockpile is removed, but also resulting when the feeder system is moved to another dockside storage building or site where the distance between the stockpile and the fixed conveyor is of significantly increased or decreased length. Further, the feeder system should be operable at a high level of production while requiring fewer personnel than presently used in the industry for removing stockpiled material and transporting it to a ship or barge. The feeder system should also be usable when handling other types of bulk material besides ore concentrate, and in other situations besides dockside stockpiles. The feeder system should improve safety by removing stockpiled materials at a sufficient height and distance to insure that caving and sloughing will pose no threat to the operator and feeder system.
The present invention fulfills these needs, and further provides other related advantages.